The grate covering the entrance to the hive's sewers took no less than five human arms and one mechanical one to lift out of the way. Even as they moved it aside the other penal soldiers were still fighting the loyalists. Datave's repairs and instructions enough to get the heavy bolter working again.
"Keep up the fire you two." Their guide said. "If I get back here and this place is overrun again, I'll kill you myself." The two other legionaries nodded and went back to firing the heavy weapon. The legionnaire turned back to Edsin. "Well, let's get moving." He said as he suited action to words and began climbing down the metal rungs set into the side of the sewer entrance. All the members of his impromptu squad looked at their sergeant who only frowned.
"Well you heard him." He said and started down himself.
~/~/~
The tunnel they arrived in was both darker and farther down then Edsin had expected. Their guide activated a lamp on the end of his lasgun and Edsin wished he'd thought to bring one, no doubt there'd been a few on the chimera.
"Uh, Sergeant?" Edsin turned around to see the outline of the greatcoat wearing cultist holding a pair of cylinders. The sergeant starred at him so the cultist twisted the end of one and a beam of light shot out. "I thought you might want one." Edsin took one and gave him a slight nod. The cultist smiled back and even in the gloom Edsin could see the man's jagged teeth.
Edsin took a quick glance around the tunnel they were in. It was made of thick rockcrete. Old, probably dating back to when the hive had first been built whenever that was. Thick cables ran along the ceiling in both directions in a half dozen colors. It wasn't as small as some sewers he'd seen, but they wouldn't be able to walk more than three abreast. No room to fight if they had too. Part of Edsin told him not to enter a situation where he could be ambushed again, another part told him they'd already come too far. Agreeing with the second part Edsin turned to see the last of his squad reach the bottom.
Irritus was looking around the tunnel with his own laminator and Edsin noticed that despite having used one so recently, the cultist still had no weapon. He also noticed that he was standing a bit closer to Maria than anyone else. For her part, the former sister superior was looking at her chainsword. Noting where the attack on the sentinel had taken off some if it's teeth and glancing over at Irritus every now and then Datave stood behind them, quietly admiring the cables on the ceiling, his mechanical eye glowing softly. Next to him Alain had slung his lasgun and was rubbing his forehead with both hands. Without looking he noticed the sergeant's glance and stopped. "C'mon, let's get going." The legionary said starting off down the tunnel. Edsin took one last look back at the other heretics then followed after.
~/~/~
"How long is this tunnel?" Edsin asked the question more out of boredom than actually wanting to know the answer. Their guide was in the center with Edsin on his right and Alain on his left. A few steps behind them were Irritus, Maria, and Datave from left to right. The legionary glanced up at the ceiling as though he recognized their location from the way the wires looked.
"Shouldn't be much further now." He said. They'd been walking for what felt like an hour and Edsin had been on edge the entire time. He rolled his eyes and noticed that Alain hadn't unslung his weapon. Edsin had been cradling his hellgun in the crook of his right arm and holding the laminator Irritus had given him with the other. The rest of the squad all had their weapons ready, all of them having been in at least one ambush lately. Alain was rubbing his head again though this time it was the back.
"What's up?" Edsin asked, trying to sound as though he was worried about the psyker as a person and not because he thought he might suddenly explode and kill them.
"Huh?" The psyker asked and looked at him in the gloom. Edsin shined the light in his eyes.
"What's going on? You've been acting funny." Alain starred at the sergeant for a moment then sighed.
"I've been hearing the voices again, but when we were up top one came through clearly." If there had been adequate lighting in the tunnel, Alain would have noticed the lack of expression on Edsin's face. As it was he took the NCO's silence for understanding.
"What did it say?" Edsin asked, taking the light out of the psykers face and again asking a question that he didn't care about the answer to.
"It asked me…it…it asked…me….AAAHHHH!" Alain dropped to the ground and grabbed his head screaming. Everyone stopped and looked at the psyker.
"What's wrong?" Irritus asked. Alain grit his teeth and blood started flowing from his ears.
"Nothing. There's nothing…just…nothing…" Edsin looked at the former guardsman at his feet then looked into the gloom farther down the tunnel.
"Datave," The sergeant said in a clipped tone. "You've got an auspex built in right?" The heretek nodded.
"I do indeed sergeant." Edsin nodded slowly and leveled his hellgun in front of him.
"How many life forms are showing up on it?" He asked. Maria took his meaning and held her chainsword out in front of her and the legionary followed suit. Datave looked at his arm.
"I can see….oh that's interesting." The mechanical man went silent. Edsin swallowed and called back without looking away from the tunnel.
"What? What do you see?" Datave pressed some runes set into his metal arm.
"I'm showing at least ten different life forms. That is in addition to our own readings." Before anyone could even began to panic the legionnaire's head exploded.
Edsin dropped to the ground immediately, reflexes kicking in and causing the lasbolts to pass through the air above his head instead of into it. The red beams illuminated the tunnel and Edsin saw Irritus jump behind to Maria as she lashed out at silhouette in the darkness next to her. He watched Datvae pull his lasgun up to fire at something in front of them when a sparking maul sung out from the darkness next to him and smashed into his head, knocking the heretek onto the ground. Edsin realized then what was happening and rolled to the left where their guide's headless body had fallen, narrowly missing the shock maul that was meant for him.
He pushed himself up with both hands and twisted his body so that his hellgun was pointing to the right. Letting off a burst he was rewarded with both a scream and another look at the tunnel as the red bolts lit it up. The man he'd hit was wearing black carapace armor like his, only he was wearing a full face mask. His victim fell backwards and Edsin saw another armored man standing behind him. This one carrying a hellgun. He leveled the weapon at him and Edsin did the first thing that came to mind. He tossed his hellgun at him. The masked assailant's reflexes failed him and he dropped his own weapon to catch Edsin's, pausing in his confusion just long enough to realize that it was still connected to the traitor's backpack. Edsin yanked on the cable and the weapon flew out of his hands and clattered on the floor. His opponent looked at it as it fell and was rewarded with a clear view of Edsin's foot. The boot connected with the facemask and the Edsin heard the glass crunch. His opponent fell over backwards and Edsin turned around…
To see a bare fist coming at him. The solid right took him just above the bridge of his nose and sent him reeling. He grabbed his face with his left hand and brought up his right arm, blocking another attack. Still holding his face, Edsin grabbed the arm he'd blocked, but just as he did, he felt the first fist hit him again. Punching his left knuckles so that his own palm smashed his nose. Edsin held onto the limb he'd grabbed using it as reference and brought his right knee up where his attackers gut should have been. He only hit air and felt a foot slide behind his left foot. Realizing his attackers plan, he pulled the arm he held out and away from the two of them so that if he was tripped, they'd be off balance and fall with him. He moved his right hand away from his face in time to see a black haired head coming at him.
The head butt send Edsin onto his back and his world began to spin as the repeated head trauma was final taking toll. He looked up at his attacker, only able to see a fuzzy shape in the gloom. He was, however, able to discern the large laspistol being removed from a shoulder holster and pointed at him. He took a deep breath and felt the tunnel growing even darker until he could only hear words.
"Good one Alex," A man's voice said. "That was the last of them. Let's bag em' and get back to the inquisitor." A pause. "The inquisitor wants them alive." Another pause, then Edsin heard a female voice say:
"Alive it is. As long as I'm getting paid." Then Edsin didn't hear anything else.
~/~/~
A/N: The Warhammer 40,000 series belongs to Games Workshop, and NOT me.
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